Lebanon makes switch to State Police coverage

LEBANON, Maine — The Lebanon Board of Selectmen on Wednesday announced that effective March 1 all primary law enforcement services for the town will be though the Maine State Police.

For approximately the past 10 years, the town has been covered by an agreement between the York County Sheriff’s Department and the Maine State Police. That agreement would alternate police coverage every other month by each agency.

“It was difficult with the alternating schedules with officers doing follow-up on cases and continuity of cases. If a resident had a burglary the last day of the month, they may have to wait for follow-up on the case because the next day that officer would be assigned new towns on the other side of the county for a month. This new agreement gives Lebanon troopers that will be assigned primarily to Lebanon and will be able to focus on some of the concerns we identified during a recent meeting with Maine State Police supervision,” Selectman Jason Cole added.

On Monday, March 4, the three Lebanon selectmen met with Maine State Police Sgt. Jonathan Shapiro who has been assigned as the liaison for Lebanon. Also attending the meeting were Lebanon Rescue Chief Samantha Cole and Lebanon Fire Chief Skip Wood.

Some areas identified as concerns are the increase in serious accidents on Carl Broggi Highway between Depot Road and the Sanford town line, speeding through various sections of the community, children being in proper car seats and seat belted and just the overall feeling of many motorists out of town that feel they can drive through Lebanon recklessly because the community has no police, Jason Cole said in a press release issued late Wednesday morning.

Another area of major concern the town is in the process of correcting is out-of-state registrations. The town is finalizing work with a new constable that will be able to identify, secure evidence and then prosecute out-of-state registration violations, which the initial fine is more than $900.

According to Jason Cole, they have identified between 200 and 300 cars already and the new constable will be busy with the prosecution of these violations. The town loses all of the excise tax money which stays in the community to help build roads, provide public safety and cuts taxes for the others who legally register their vehicles, Jason Cole pointed out.

Additionally, Selectman Karen Gerrish has been in talks with the governor’s office who has concern about these same violators who have New Hampshire plates and the chance that they are also not paying income tax due to having New Hampshire addresses.

Also, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap is working collaboratively with the Board of Selectmen on the tax evasion issue. Once these cases are identified, the information will be forwarded to the income tax divisions at the state for review in addition to the prosecution of evasion of excise tax. “We are hoping for people to just come register their car legally, and it will save the town time and money to prosecute these cases. We just want compliance and fairness for each resident,” Jason Cole said in the press release.

On Tuesday, March 5, the day after the meeting with the state police, Trooper Jamie Fenderson was at the entrance to the schools watching for violations in regard to the concerns brought up during the meeting before.

Also, troopers were focused on Carl Broggi Highway in the area of the serious accidents doing traffic enforcement. Additionally, Fenderson attended the selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday night.

“We thank the Sheriff’s Department for their coverage of our town and understand the difficulties of switching back and forth each month. They have done a great job of protecting our town and we appreciate their work. This agreement makes it more consistent for the 14 towns that rely on sheriff and state police patrols,” Jason Cole added.

Residents should still contact 911 if they have a police, ambulance or fire emergency. If you need a state trooper for non-emergency, the contact number is 207-657-3030.

Troopers often stop by at the Rescue Station on Carl Broggi Highway and the office that was assigned to the sheriff’s department for a substation will be available for them to use, so they have an office here in town if they need it.

“The state police identified they wanted to be more involved in the community and met with us on Monday and we expect that they will host a meeting for residents with concerns to come down and meet with a trooper. When we have a date and time, we will make sure residents are aware,” Selectman Chairman Robert Frizzell added.

Residents with questions for the selectmen or suggestions are asked to contact Frizzell by emailing lebselectmen@metrocast.net or calling (207) 457-6034.

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